Wings of Freedom
by Chewie Cookies
Summary: Rewrite of Guardian's Wings by notgonnasay09 Hinata discovers that she and Hanabi have a kekkei genkai that they obtained from their mother. However, most of the Hyuuga clan doesn't like that idea, and the two of them are forced to flee their home. Naruto Uzumaki, being the straightforward guy he is, decides to help the two girls. Will love arise between Hinata and Naruto?
1. Chapter 1

Wings of Freedom

Disclaimer: I disclaim all that is used in this work of fanfiction, including the basic idea. This fic is based off of the fic Guardian's Wings by notgonnasay09, who has been absent from fanfiction dot net for some time. I refuse to completely copy his fic, since it would be disrespectful to do that without his permission, but this will be mostly the same thing, aside from some differences. I can only hope that I do him justice with this, since he's a good dude. Please tell me what you think of this rewrite in reviews/pm's/etc.

_Chapter One_

At the Hyuuga compound, about a month after Sasuke Uchiha deserted Konoha

Hinata shivered slightly. She'd come down with a cold recently, but her tutor decided that that was all the more reason for her to spar today. He had said that she needed to be able to defend herself no matter what her condition was. She knew this man, from the Main Family, only had her spar today because he wanted her to suffer. It frustrated her, along with the spar. She'd managed to get a few hits in on the Branch Family member she was sparring with, but her cold was still slowing her down, and she had the feeling that this sparring would only worsen her condition.

The petite blunette looked to the side of the ring at her mother and sister, knowing that they felt for her, and that they would likely smother her with affection after her training was over. This, at least, brought a smile to her face. Her grandfather, Hiroshi, as head of the Hyuuga Clan's council of elders, had no issues being strict with her, what with the shame he felt at having somebody with such weak emotions as his granddaughter, but Hinata's mother, Izumi, and her sister, Hanabi, had no negative feelings towards her like that. It was that quick look for reassurance, though, that set many things in motion that day.

Hinata's opponent, seeing an opening, quickly lashed out, intending to temporarily paralyze the blunette with a strike to a specific tenketsu on the back of her neck. The small heiress saw the attack coming just barely, not helped at all by her Byakugan's blind spot, and shifted to the side, intending to make her opponent miss the tenketsu he was aiming for. What she didn't know, though, was that she was causing his attack to hit something completely different. A seal had been placed on Hinata's back shortly after her birth, unbeknownst to anybody aside from her mother and father, the latter of whom was out of the village at the moment for a diplomatic mission, and the chakra from the Juuken strike that hit it caused the seal to begin unraveling.

Crying out in pain and confusion, Hinata fell forward, kneeling on the ground as her back began bulging strangely. Everybody around her watched in confusion. Everybody, that is, other than her mother.

Izumi quickly made a hand seal, and, being very adept with ninjutsu, this was all she needed to fire off a quick technique. "Water Style: Water Bullet!" she called out, sending the attack at the Branch Family member Hinata had been fighting. The woman swiftly grabbed up Hanabi, who had been sitting next to her, under one of her arms, and practically teleported to Hinata's side, where she threw down a barrier seal, meant to keep others away from them. Her gaze, full of sadness, reached the Branch Family member, and she said sadly, "Don't blame yourself for what will happen to me."

With that, blinding pain shot through Hinata's being for an instant, and a pair of snow-white wings erupted from her back, causing many of the Hyuuga to gasp in shock. Before they could comprehend what was going on, a pair of even larger wings emerged from Izumi's back, and she grabbed Hinata under the opposite arm from Hanabi, deactivated the barrier seals, and flew away.

Hiroshi seethed. "She had a kekkei genkai all this time? How dare she," he whispered softly, then raised his head to the sky and roared, **"How dare she betray our family like this!"**

Another Hyuuga elder who'd seen the whole thing began shouting instructions. "Guards! Intercept them! Don't let them leave this place alive!" he shouted, organizing the members of the clan to stop Izumi, Hinata, and Hanabi.

Meanwhile, up in the air

Hinata coughed slightly, still suffering from her cold. "M-Mother, what's going on?" she asked, confused and frightened.

Hanabi nodded. "Yeah, what's happening? What are those wings coming out of Hinata-neechan's and your back?" she asked.

Izumi tried to put up a brave smile for her children. "They are our kekkei genkai, one I took great measures to hide from the Hyuuga Clan. Sadly, while they would be a great boon to Konoha, the fact of the matter is that I joined the village as a wife to the Hyuuga Clan head, meaning that I'd never be able to bring them out without causing my own death. Now, my babies, our secret is out. When we get to the gates of the compound, I'm going to land, as my wings haven't been exercised in decades, and therefore won't be able to take us all the way to the Hokage Tower. When I land, I want you two to run straight to Lady Hokage. Don't stop, and most importantly, don't look back, not even with your Byakugans," she explained softly, knowing that, even though she didn't say it outright, Hinata at least was smart enough to figure out what her plan was.

Hinata whimpered softly, understanding that this was probably the last time she'd be in her mother's arms. "Hanabi-chan, give Momma a hug and a kiss for good luck. We have to get to the Hokage Tower so that we can get reinforcements to help Momma, and she'll need all the luck she can get," she instructed, wrapping her arms around her mother as much as she could without obstructing her wings and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Hanabi did the same, her seven year old mind not realizing yet that she probably wouldn't see her mother again.

Soon, Izumi made it to the edge of the clan compound, and knocked the two gate guards our with a quick blast of wind from her wings. Upon landing outside the gates, she placed Hanabi in Hinata's arms and gave Hinata a small push. "I love you both so very much. Remember that, my babies. Tell your father I love him, and for him not to blame himself," she said softly, tears coming to her eyes.

Hinata nodded, looking at her mother one last time, and she sped off as quickly as she could, only slightly encumbered by her wings. Hanabi, upon realizing what was really going on, began screaming. "MOMMY! NO! WE CAN ESCAPE TOGETHER! NEECHAN! WE HAVE TO GO BACK FOR-" she cried, suddenly being silenced when Hinata knocked her out.

Izumi nodded to herself, believing that she was doing all she could, and that her children would survive. Then the first wave of Hyuuga guards came...

A few minutes later, with Naruto

"_Stupid Sasuke. Stupid D-rank mission. Stupid Baachan. But ESPECIALLY stupid Sasuke, since the teme's not even HERE!"_ Naruto thought to himself grumpily as he headed to the Hokage Tower on the way back from a D-rank mission he decided to do on his own (with a few clones helping out) to earn some extra money so he'd have more to spend on food and other necessities. Needless to say, the job had been irritating. Oh, sure, it had gotten done, but the client kept glaring at him like the vast majority of the village did, and kept asking questions like, "You didn't steal anything, did you?" Dammit, yes, he'd stolen in his lifetime, but only when his life was actually in danger from things like starvation! As it was, he currently had a job that paid decently, so there was no need to steal at this point.

He was roused from his thoughts by the sounds of people chanting around the corner. "Kill them! Kill the little demons!" they shouted. Naruto could also vaguely hear cries of pain coming from that direction. Cries of a girl's voice. He couldn't place the name at the moment, but he knew it was somebody familiar.

Needless to say, Naruto was around that corner in three seconds.

With Hinata and Hanabi

Hinata was terrified. She was only minutes away from the Hokage Tower when people had formed a mob and attacked her, convinced she was a demon of some sort because of her wings. She shielded her sister from the attacks, getting close to a building and putting herself between her sister and the mob. Using her body and wings as a shield, she protected Hanabi as well as she could. Surprisingly, her wings had hardened as she huddled above her sister. However, she was still getting cut up and bruised anywhere the wings couldn't shield her.

Activating her Byakugan, despite her mother's commands, she looked back, hoping that her mother had possibly convinced the clan to let them live. What she saw instead horrified her. Her grandfather's hand was over Izumi's heart, pumping chakra into it as the woman convulsed, dying quickly. Hinata quickly deactivated her doujutsu, not wanting to see anymore of what was going on over there. The blunette sobbed quietly. _"I don't want it to end like this...I still have to tell Naruto-kun that I love him...Please, somebody, save us!"_ she screamed mentally.

As if her prayers were answered and her hopes were dashed at the same time, an oppressive feeling fell over her and all of the members of the mob. Upon feeling the beating stop, Hinata turned her head to see her crush, Naruto Uzumaki, surrounded by a cloak of red chakra, a single chakra tail emerging from the base of his spine, and two long chakra 'ears' waving this way and that on top of his head.

"Hey...You want a demon to beat the crap out of?" he said lowly, then roared, "THEN ATTACK ME! I CAN TAKE IT! SO LEAVE THEM THE HELL ALONE!"

The members of the mob, terrified out of their minds, began backing away, some running off right then.

"COME ON! PUNCH ME! KICK ME! CUT ME OPEN WITH BROKEN BEER BOTTLES! SET ME ON FIRE! JUST LEAVE THOSE TWO ALONE!" he screamed. This was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, apparently, as the mob ran away in its entirety. The cloak of red chakra receded back into Naruto's body, and the blond quickly hurried over to the two girls. "Oh, Kami, are you two all right?" he asked softly, gently putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder. The blunette turned around in a flash and wrapped her arms around Naruto, weeping over the loss of her mother.

It was at that time that, simultaneously, Tsunade and a group of ANBU, and Hiroshi and a regiment of Hyuuga guards, all appeared. "Naruto, what the hell happened?! Why is Hinata so beat up, and," Tsunade shouted, then gained a look of curiosity and asked, more softly this time, "Are those wings coming out of her back?"

Naruto frowned. "A mob formed earlier, and they were attacking Hinata and this little girl with her. They were screaming about how Hinata was a demon and how they were going to kill her. I used the Kyuubi's chakra to scare them off, but she's hurt. Please, help her Baachan," he replied.

Hiroshi frowned. "You need not get involved in this mess, Hokage-sama. I'll take these two home, and they'll receive medical treatment there," he said, and was about to continue when he was suddenly interrupted by the one person he least expected to ever interrupt him.

"STAY AWAY FROM US, YOU MONSTER!" Hinata screamed, moving herself and Hanabi so that Naruto and Tsunade were between them and Hiroshi. "Why are you acting like everything's okay?" she whispered softly, then shouted, "WHY ARE YOU PRETENDING YOU DIDN'T JUST KILL MOM IN COLD BLOOD?!"

Tsunade and Naruto, along with all the ANBU in the area, widened their eyes in horror. Upon seeing Hiroshi still walking towards his granddaughters, and therefore towards her, Tsunade took advantage of their positions and made a small crater with her fist and the Hyuuga elder's face. "ANBU SQUAD 23! TAKE THIS MONSTER INTO CUSTODY! Squads 4 through 10, get me Izumi Hyuuga's body! Use force if necessary! And if the body has already been destroyed, THEN BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE AND TAKE THEM AND THE REST OF THE ELDERS INTO CUSTODY!" the Godaime Hokage ordered, enraged at the death of one of her favorite kunoichi.

The ANBU squads mentioned got to work. They didn't bother asking what to do with the elders in the event the body was destroyed and the elders decided to come willingly. Obviously, they'd still get the shit beaten out of them. They've had it coming for a while now...

About half an hour later, in the hospital

Hinata sat down, her body mostly healed since Tsunade decided to fix her up herself, due to the fact that she suspected some of the doctors might be, in her words, "xenophobic morons like the majority of the people in the village." Hanabi had woken up on the way to the hospital and was currently crying with her head in her sister's lap. Naruto stood by watching to make sure nobody stupid came into the room, though the ANBU were probably doing just fine on their own, while a few of his clones were out shopping for girls' shirts that exposed the shoulder blades, since Hinata and Hanabi's newly-discovered bloodline would require such clothing. Izumi's body had been brought in, and Tsunade had left to help with the autopsy, reassuring Hinata and Hanabi that she'd make sure their mother was given a proper funeral, and that she'd send any uninvited Hyuuga to the other end of the village if they tried to attend.

So now, Hinata, Hanabi, and Naruto were on their own in the hospital room. After deciding he'd been quiet for too long, Naruto spoke up. "I know you two are upset, obviously, but Baachan's going to try and make things better for you two. And you can count on my help, too, of course," he said softly, walking over to rest one hand on Hinata's shoulder and the other on Hanabi's head.

Hinata nodded. "Thanks, Naruto-kun," she said softly, her face still sullen. "I-I don't know if we'll ever r-really get over this, though...We were very close to M-Mom." The blunette gently picked up Hanabi, who had cried herself asleep, and put her in the bed in her stead. Hinata rose and walked up to Naruto. "I...I know I'm not S-Sakura, Naruto-kun, but p-please, will you c-comfort me as if I were her?" she asked softly, trying her hardest not to let loose the tears that were straining to run down her face.

Naruto smiled softly. "It doesn't matter that you're not Sakura-chan, Hinata. If any of my friends, even my guy friends, need me to be there for them, I'll be there giving one hundred and sixty percent," he replied warmly, gently wrapping his arms around Hinata, being careful not to touch her wings in case they were sensitive.

It was in Naruto's arms that Hinata wept. She wept for her departed mother, who died protecting her. She wept for her sister, who only had her to rely upon now. She wept for her father, who would be torn apart by this news when he returned from his mission. She wept about how wrong this whole situation was. And, just a little bit, she wept for herself as well. Naruto continued to hold her, noting briefly that his jacket was getting wet from the tears. Eventually, though, Hinata's tears ran out, and she fell asleep in his arms. The blond shinobi placed her in the hospital bed with her sister, where the two instinctively held one another in their sleep. Naruto decided to stay with them as they slept, wondering just what Hinata had meant by her statement about being comforted as if she were Sakura.

Meanwhile, with Tsunade

The Godaime Hokage sighed sadly. "Bring Hinata and Hanabi here, Shizune. I'm going to use the Temporary Revival Jutsu, and Hinata and Hanabi are going to want to be here to see their mother. I'm thinking I can keep her alive for about an hour if I use the technique soon," she ordered. Shizune nodded, knowing how important this was.

The Temporary Revival Jutsu was a medical kinjutsu. With a bit of the caster's life force, one was capable of temporarily reviving the dead. The amount of time the deceased was revived for depended on three factors: the skill of the jutsu's caster, the amount of time it had been since the revived entity had died, and the amount of lifespan the caster had left. Most people didn't know this, but the main reason Tsunade aged as she did was because she used such techniques. The Uzumaki blood in her veins from her grandmother Mito had originally extended her lifespan quite a bit, but as it was, she would not be living any longer than the average person dying of old age. Using this technique would take at least a few days off of her life, but she didn't mind so much. She wasn't _that_ close to dying of old age, after all.

Shizune reappeared, gently ushering Hinata, Hanabi, and surprisingly, Naruto, into the room. Tsunade groaned. "I probably shouldn't ask, but why is the gaki here too?" she asked.

Naruto looked into Tsunade's eyes with determination. "I promised Hinata that I'd be there for her and Hanabi. I'm not breaking that promise," he stated seriously.

The blonde Hokage smiled softly. "I don't know whether or not you're in the right place, but your heart certainly is. Go ahead and stick around. Just don't be loud like you normally are," she replied.

Naruto nodded, and the Slug Sannin began casting her technique. Izumi's heart, which had been stopped by the head elder's attack, began beating again. The woman opened her eyes, which had only just recently closed. "W-where am I? I was speaking with Hizashi-niisan, but now..." the recently deceased woman mumbled.

"Mom!/Mommy!" Hinata and Hanabi cried out at the same time.

Tsunade smiled sadly. "Relax, Izumi-chan. It's only for about an hour or so, but I've brought you back. There are a few things I have to know right away, but afterwards, you can spend some time with your daughters before you pass on again," she explained, then asked, "First off, is Hiashi in on your secret? Can I trust him to eventually take Hinata and Hanabi back into custody after we've dealt with this issue?"

Izumi nodded. "Yes, Hiashi-kun always knew of my secret. He was one of several who helped me keep it all this time. You can trust him to continue treating his daughters well, even if he isn't the best at showing his love," the blunette elaborated, giggling a bit at the end.

Tsunade nodded, glad there was somebody more she could trust during this mess. "Your kekkei genkai, is there anything I should know about training Hinata and Hanabi to use it? Any notes hidden away that I can give to them?" the buxom blonde continued.

Izumi nodded. "First off, they shouldn't try flying too high off the ground until they're capable of flying low. If they try to fly high up without knowing how, they could easily injure themselves. Also, they will have either a primary or secondary wind chakra affinity. You will need more information than that, but thankfully, Hiashi-kun keeps a scroll with notes about my kekkei genkai on his person at all times," the winged woman explained, then turned to Hinata and added, "Push some chakra into your wings again. Like a switch, chakra will cause them to expand or shrink, and when they're small enough, they'll fit right beneath your shoulder blades."

Hinata nodded, and quickly retracted her wings. Hanabi squeaked lightly as one of them brushed against her when it shrunk. The small girl didn't want to waste time making a fuss about it, but she wished she had wings right now, too. Izumi, knowing her daughters well enough, giggled and told Hanabi, "Don't worry, my little firecracker, when you start going through puberty, your wings will come along as well, though either Hiashi-kun or I will have to release the seal on your back for that to happen painlessly."

Hanabi nodded her head, blushing a little at having been read so easily. "Y-yes Mommy," she replied softly.

Izumi extended her arms out and gestured to her daughters. The two girls quickly went to their mother and allowed her arms to envelop them. Izumi cooed gently to her girls, whispering gently for a few minutes how much she loved them, and how she was so proud of them. Soon, though, she noticed the one person in the room who was neither family nor doctor. "Naruto-chan? Did you help my baby girls when they were getting away?" she asked softly.

Naruto nodded nervously. "Yes, Izumi-sama. Hinata's my friend, and I couldn't just leave her when she needed help," he replied.

Izumi smiled. "That's just like you to do that. Hinata-chan has told me many things about you, so I already know I can trust you to help my daughters out in their time of need. There are some things, though, that I'd like to tell you before I'm gone again, but I need Hokage-sama's permission before I do," she replied, then turned to Tsunade and gave a questioning look.

Tsunade smiled softly. "I'm pretty sure he can deal with his mother's enemies by now, at least, so you can tell him all you want about her. I was planning on telling him soon anyway, since I'm recommending him for Chuunin rank after reading reports about his performance in the exams and during the invasion that occurred afterwards," she said, then continued, "Besides, I'm going to have to tell him about her if I'm going to help him help Hinata and Hanabi."

The elder blunette nodded and turned to Naruto. "Naruto-chan, your mother was one of my closest friends, Kushina Uzumaki. She came to Konoha when she was fairly young, and while I can't speak for her in her early years, when I eventually came to live in Konoha, she was quite a handful. I've always been very shy, but she helped a lot in bringing me out of my shell. Much like I'm told you've helped my Hinata-chan," she recalled fondly.

Naruto gasped. "You knew my mother?" he asked softly.

Izumi nodded. "She would have been very proud of you, both her and your father. You have to understand, though, that your parents both had many enemies, though your father's were far more numerous. They were very happy when your mother discovered she was pregnant with you. It was one of our wishes that you and my children would become friends, and I've always been happy that you and Hinata-chan got along in the Academy. One of my greatest regrets is that I couldn't adopt you after your parents died. The Hyuuga elders never allowed me to do that, but at least some of my money went to paying for your well being. Hiashi-kun will tell you more if you ask him, I'm sure. I wish I could tell you more, but I really need this time with my daughters before I'm gone for good," she explained.

Naruto nodded, and decided to take watch with the ANBU outside as the dying mother spent her last moments with her daughters...

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

Wings of Freedom

Disclaimer: I disclaim everything used in this work of fanfiction, including, but not limited to, the number Q. You may be thinking to yourself, "Chewie Cookies, Q isn't a number!" To this I say, "That's what _you_ think!"

Chapter Two

Later, in the Hokage's office

Naruto stood before Tsunade, both their faces darkened by the sadness from the recent passing of Izumi Hyuuga. The two former Hyuuga heiresses rested on a couch in the room, tired and grief-stricken from their ordeal. However, time waited for no-one, most certainly not shinobi of Konoha. Thankfully, Hinata was but a Gennin, and Hanabi still a mere academy student, so they were allowed to grieve longer than most higher-ranking shinobi would be. Naruto, on the other hand...

"Naruto Uzumaki! Effective immediately, I am promoting you to Chuunin! Your actions, not only today, but during the Sound and Sand invasion of Konoha, and during the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha, tell me that while you may not be the most skilled of shinobi, or the most level-headed, you contain more than enough of both of these qualities that it would be a waste to force you to remain a Gennin. You have the choice of wearing the Konoha flak jacket, if you so desire, or not. If you want one, I'd be happy to direct you to where they're acquired. But that's not what you want from me right now, is it?" Tsunade announced, getting a sly smirk on her face near the end of her statement.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you very much, Baachan, for the promotion. I'll do my best to serve Konoha well-ttebayo! After all, I can't be Hokage someday if I slack off now!" he replied, then scratched the back of his head and continued, "But, yeah, I really would like more information about my mom. I understand why you can't tell me about my dad, but I'd really like to know as much as I can about my mom..."

Tsunade smiled warmly. "Well, for one thing, she had a home that's been taken care of until you were old enough or strong enough to be allowed to claim it. You can't move into it right away, as I'm going to need a team to carefully remove items that would link you to your father. Or I can just have Kakashi do it, since he's right here," she explained, looking in the direction of one of the windows of the office.

The mostly-masked ninja poked his head through said window. "You're still as sharp as ever, Tsunade-sama. I'll get right to it. If you want, I can also give him a tour of the place after I'm done," the son of the White Fang offered.

Tsunade nodded. "That's fine, as long as you don't read that accursed book in front of Hinata and Hanabi. They really don't need trouble right now," the Slug Sannin replied.

The scarecrow nin nodded, and vanished in a shunshin. Tsunade smiled softly, and turned to Naruto. "Wait here for a few minutes. I'll get your inheritance from your mother," she said, getting up from her desk to do the duty herself.

After Tsunade left the room, Hinata stood up and bowed to Naruto. "Th-thank you so much for helping my sister and me, Naruto-kun. I-I'm really happy you're finally learning who your mother was, even with everything that's happened today. I'm also really happy that you finally know that she and your father loved you. I can't imagine how much that must mean to you," she said softly, rising from her bow and smiling tearfully at her crush.

Naruto smiled back, walked up to Hinata, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not done helping you two yet, Hinata. I'm not about to sit idly by when one of my precious people is hurting and I'm perfectly capable of doing something about it. You and Hanabi-chan don't have a home at the moment, right? I'm going to try to set you two up in a room in my mom's house," he explained. Taking his hand off of her shoulder and scratching the back of his head with it, he added, "It might be a little weird, since I'm a boy and you're a girl, but I'm sure we can make it work! After all, we already share a Nindo. Sharing a home as well shouldn't be too difficult-ttebayo!"

Hinata was stunned into silence for a moment. _"He remembered my Nindo? He's giving Hanabi-chan and me a home? We're going to be living together?!"_ she thought to herself as her face turned redder and redder.

Naruto, noticing his friend's reddening face, panicked, realizing she was about to faint. "Please don't faint, Hinata! I need to know what you think of my idea before you pass out!" the whiskered ninja exclaimed nervously.

Hinata started taking deep breaths, trying her hardest to remain conscious, when she felt a pinprick of chakra in a spot that normally helped calm her down from situations like this. Turning around slightly, she saw her beloved baby sister, now awake, looking her way with a smile. "She might not be able to say it at the moment, due to her nervousness, but I can tell she'd be happy to take you up on your offer, Naruto-san. Believe me, aside from the embarrassment she feels from the idea of living with a boy, she's very happy about this," Hanabi said, then knelt to the ground and bowed her head partway and stated, "Neechan and I humbly accept your offer."

Naruto, flustered slightly by Hanabi's formal action, sputtered for a few seconds before saying, "Get up, Hanabi-chan! You shouldn't feel like you have to bow down to me! It's the least I can do for you and your sister, after how nice she's always been to me-ttebayo!"

Hanabi grinned cheekily. "It's gonna be that kind of relationship, then, huh Naruto-san?" she giggled happily before jumping up and saying, "I guess then I'm free to tease you about how you're going to be housemates with two pretty girls who are practically princesses, aren't I?"

Naruto stood confused for a moment, then frowned with his arms crossed over his chest. "First off, you're a little too..._little_ to be making jokes like that. Second, I won't be rooming with two pretty girls. I'll be rooming with one pretty girl, and her scrawny runt of a kid sister-ttebayo!"

At that, Hinata, whose face had somewhat regained its usual color, turned bright red all over again. _"He thinks I'm pretty?!"_ she squeaked in her mind.

Hanabi, seeing what was going on with both Naruto and Hinata, decided to have some more fun with them. "So, you think Neechan's pretty, do you? Well, I bet you didn't know she's already almost a B-cup!" she exclaimed, putting the final nail in the metaphorical coffin.

Hinata passed out, causing Naruto to quickly catch her and set her down on the couch, doing his very best not to touch anything inappropriate, before turning to Hanabi and shouting, "You shouldn't give out your sister's personal information like that, you little brat! And shouldn't you be, I dunno, upset about your mother's death at this point instead of causing trouble-ttebayo?!"

Almost immediately, Naruto regretted saying that, as in an instant, Hanabi's Byakugan was activated, and she had a chakra-infused palm just inches from his face. The most startling part of this, though, was that Hanabi's eyes were tearing up. "Don't you _dare_ think for a second I'm not sad about Momma dying. If you're allowed to have your stupidly happy mask to hide your pain, I think I should be allowed the same luxury. The Hyuuga are trained to control our emotions from a very young age, but that doesn't mean we don't feel anything," she said lowly.

Naruto, upon seeing Hanabi's pain-stricken face, sighed. "I'm sorry, Hanabi-chan. You're right. But the emotional mask thing isn't exactly the healthiest way to deal with pain, I've been told, so please don't use it too often," he replied softly, slowly moving past the tiny girl's outstretched arm and putting his arms around her in a hug. "You're just a little kid, so you shouldn't have to hide your tears. Go ahead and cry if you want to."

Hanabi shuddered a bit in the newly-promoted Chuunin's arms, and soon broke down into sobs. Naruto, having seen how parents dealt with this kind of situation, mimicked a father he'd seen once, gently rubbing Hanabi's back as he held her. "There there, Hanabi-chan. Things will get better for you and your sister. I promise. And since you know your sister's Nindo is the same as mine, you know I won't go back on that promise," he whispered soothingly, gently picking her up and setting her next to her sister. Hanabi transferred her hug from Naruto to Hinata, and the blond patted her head. "I'll make sure you two always have a home to return to, as long as you need me to," he said softly as Hanabi fell asleep from all the stress and crying. Turning to the door, Naruto saw Tsunade standing there and asked, "You'll make sure they're looked after while I'm on my trip with Ero-sennin, won't you?"

Tsunade nodded, tearing up a bit herself. "I will, brat. Also, I don't know if anybody's told you this, but you're going to make a great father someday," she said, smiling a bit and adding, "You handled her like a champ."

Naruto smiled warmly and said, "If there's a girl out there who's okay with making a family with me, I'll certainly try. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to see what my mom left me."

Tsunade grinned. Heading over to her desk, she withdrew a storage scroll from her overcoat and said, "I had to go through this stuff myself to make sure there wasn't anything in it linking to your father, but I'm sure you'll be pretty pleased with what Kushina left behind. As I'm sure you learned in the academy, the Uzumaki clan was known for its incredible skill in fuinjutsu, or sealing jutsu, and longevity. As Uzushiogakure was destroyed during the Third Shinobi World War, any notes that were retrieved by Konoha were given to your mother, and now they, along with your mother's own notes and theories, will be passed on to you...Why are you looking at me like I've grown a second head that's somehow made out of one of Jiraiya's stupid books?"

Naruto asked, slightly confused, "There's an Uzumaki clan?"

Tsunade, her eye twitching in spite of her smiling face, replied, "Yes...You _were_ taught about them in the academy, weren't you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. And I know for a fact that Iruka-sensei would have forced me to stay for that lesson and pay attention if it were part of the curri...curri...lesson plan. I don't know what's going on here anymore than you do," he answered.

There was a loud crack that woke Hanabi and Hinata when Tsunade broke a small part of her desk off while trying to contain her rage. Needless to say, she failed. Hard.

"ANBU! Bring me the civilian council members in charge of academy curriculum and the headmaster of the academy! Be a little rough with them if you have to! And bring me Iruka Umino, but show him courtesy! I suspect he at least has a good reason for what's happened! Go!" the Godaime exploded.

As one, the ANBU around the office bowed before her and said, "Thank you, Hokage-sama!" They quickly went to do their task, also unhappy with the fact that the academy had failed to teach about their lost Uzumaki allies. After all, many in the ANBU had fought and bled alongside the Uzumaki, and respected them greatly for their contributions to Konoha. Also, they made really good sake, but that's a story for another time.

Tsunade groaned. "Anyway, Kushina left a house for you, and several other things inside of this scroll. You can open the scroll now, or wait till later, when you have some privacy. It's up to you," she replied, then sighed a little and added, "Actually, why don't you open it later, when you're at your new house? I'll walk you three there, and on the way, I'll tell you some stories about your mom _and_ your clan." She then stuck her head out the window and shouted, **"Loud enough that **_**everybody**_** can hear about the Uzumaki Clan that is almost certainly responsible for us winning the last Shinobi World War, the clan that they have forgotten way too easily!"** Needless to say, more than a few birds were frightened into flying away due to the blonde's loud, angry voice.

Naruto twitched slightly in his seat in fear, all while Hinata and Hanabi held each other in fright. "O-okay, crazy lady!" they said in unison.

Later, a few yards away from Kushina and Minato's old house

"So she did..."

"Yup!"

"And the horde of cats didn't..."

"Not without excessive amounts of manpower and catnip."

"And that's why..."

Tsunade nodded, "Yes, kids, that's why Konoha considers Felinophobia, the irrational fear of cats, to be a legitimate psychological disorder. All because this brat's mom had a mean streak a mile wide, and was very creative with her vengeance," the Slug Sannin stated matter-of-factly. Coming to a stop and turning to a cozy-looking, one story home, Tsunade gestured towards it and said, "Well, here it is! Your parents' old home! Don't be mistaken by the small size of the house, though. Your parents were _loaded._ They just happened to live frugally."

The three shinobi and one academy student looked at the small house and smiled. The yard had the remains of a garden in it, which Hinata and Naruto both, in their minds at least, vowed would be brought back to its former glory, and a decent amount of grassy area for Hanabi to play on when she had time, or for them to invite their friends over for picnics and such. The house itself had yellow sidings, with a red roof, door, and shutters. While the garden was bare and the lawn appeared to only have had the bare minimum done for it to keep it alive, the house was in impeccable condition somehow. Naruto had suspicions that his parents were the ones to thank for the house looking as good as it did, but he didn't know how they could possibly do such a thing from beyond the grave.

"You're probably wondering how the house still looks so nice when everything else looks like crap, aren't you Naruto?" Tsunade asked, then turned to Hinata and Hanabi and said, "Look at the house with your Byakugan activated, and tell us what you see."

The sisters quickly did as they were instructed, and they looked in amazement for a moment, then Hinata blushed heavily and Hanabi started laughing like crazy. "Th-the house is covered in fuinjutsu runes, many of which are being used to keep the paint job and other things in good condition...Also, I haven't tried yet, but I-I'm assuming, from what I'm seeing, that I won't be able to see into the house with my Byakugan," Hinata answered softly.

Hanabi howled with laughter. "Of course you can't see inside the house, Neechan! It spells out in chakra, 'Quit trying to sneak a peek, you white-eyed perverts!' Obviously there are also seals designed to thwart the Byakugan! If the elders have never seen this, I hope I get to see their faces when they do! Their faces would be priceless! And for the record, no, you can't see inside the house with the Byakugan, even after all these years," the younger sister added, wiping the tears caused by her laughter from her eyes.

Just then, Naruto had a glint in his eyes. It would take some training, and a good amount of...brrrr...studying...but he knew _exactly_ how he was going to get back at the Hyuuga Elders..."Our reckoning will be glorious-ttebayo," he whispered conspiratorially, rubbing his hands together with mad glee and an evil grin a mile wide stretched across his face.

Tsunade frowned at Naruto. "I don't know what you're planning right now, Naruto, but it better not be for anybody that doesn't deserve it," she said, then grinned and added, "If it's for some jerk or bigot within the village, though, feel free to unleash your creative side, and I'll do my best to make sure whatever you do doesn't get fixed too soon!"

Hanabi giggled and raised her hand. "I want in, too!" she exclaimed excitedly, then turned to Hinata and said, "You too, Neechan!"

Hinata blushed slightly. "I-I'm not s-sure..." she stammered nervously.

Naruto grinned at her. "Come on, Hinata! You'll love what I have in mind, and you and Hanabi would be perfect to help me pull it off-ttebayo!" the blond jinchuuriki said encouragingly, then stuck out his hand to her and said, "It'll be a great team-building exercise, and it just might help a bit with your self-confidence!"

The blunette's blush brightened, but she nodded and stuck her hand out. "O-okay, but only if they deserve it!" she replied, becoming slightly firm at the end.

Naruto grabbed her hand, with Hanabi and Tsunade adding their hands to the mix. "All right! Now let's get inside, and you can tell me what the heck kind of idea you've got in your head now, brat!" Tsunade laughed, and the four of them headed inside, Kakashi waving to them from the front yard as if to say he was there too, and not to forget about him.

A few minutes later, inside the house

Kakashi smiled with his one visible eye. "I have to say, Naruto, that would be extremely unnerving to the Hyuuga Clan. As soon as they got past their indignant rage, the elders would likely be terrified of the fact that somebody was able to do that right under their noses," the scarecrow nin said nonchalantly. "Honestly, I'd be impressed if you pulled it off. Don't worry, I won't tell a soul about what I heard here today."

Tsunade grinned, and punched her fist into her palm. "The best part of that is that I can teach you how to do that myself, _and_ how to make the damage difficult to reverse! I'll get you the equipment you need to pull it off, too, but I don't want Hinata or Hanabi entering the compound. If they're caught in there, I won't be able to do anything to protect them," the Godaime Hokage said.

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, I'll figure something out. In the meantime, though, how about I unseal this scroll-ttebayo?" he replied, gesturing to the scroll on the table with his inheritance inside. In the background, one of Naruto's shadow clones cried out in frustration and pain as the furniture that particular clone was holding fell on his toe and popped him, leaving his partner without anybody holding the other side of the dresser he was carrying. Naruto groaned and created another shadow clone to replace the destroyed one, thanking the Log that he and the former Hyuuga sisters didn't have that much furniture to move into the house. The whiskered shinobi carefully rolled the scroll open, finding a seal that he somehow realized wasn't the same seal as what was normally found in a storage scroll.

"That's a blood seal, Naruto. It's likely keyed to your mother's blood, which means your blood will work on it as well," Tsunade explained, noticing the look of concern on Naruto's face.

The blue-eyed boy quickly bit his thumb, used to doing so for his summoning jutsu, and smeared the blood from his small injury onto the seal, channeling chakra into it and watching in amazement as the runes in the seal swirled around for a second, and then unraveled, a small cloud of smoke and the pop that accompanied it signaling that the seal had been unlocked and opened. When the smoke cleared, what was revealed was a small stack of scrolls, with an envelope on top of them addressed to Naruto.

The young Chuunin picked the envelope up carefully, almost reverently, observing the neat handwriting used to write his name. Carefully, gently, he opened the paper container, pulling out the letter inside, everybody in the room silent in respect as they watched him read the letter.

_ My little Naruto-chan,_

_Hey, it's your mom. If you're reading this, then that means your dad and I died some way or another before we could meet you, and I'm really sorry about that. For the record, we were really looking forward to meeting you. Hopefully I got to hold you for a bit before I passed on. Your father and I are really proud of you, having either made Chuunin already or survived in this sometimes violent world long enough to turn eighteen. One of these is more of an accomplishment than the other, but no matter which circumstance allowed you to be reading this right now, know that I am very proud of my little boy. Oh, Naruto-chan, I hope you're doing well. I hope you paid attention in class, made a lot of good friends, ate healthy, slept well, spent time and money wisely, and hopefully found a nice girl to love you...or a nice guy. You might swing that way for all I know, and if you do, I love you all the same still, and I still want you using protection when having sex. Though if your lover is a woman, you obviously shouldn't use protection when you're trying to have kids with her, but...Sorry, I'm rambling. I do that sometimes. Hopefully you didn't pick up that habit from me, or Log forbid, that verbal tic our clan is known for. Hopefully your father's genes canceled that out. And now I'm rambling again..._

_Straight to the point, these scrolls are copies of our clan's fuinjutsu notes, along with instructions on the use of our secret techniques, and don't worry, the family ramen recipe is in there, I made sure of that. The scrolls also contain key seals necessary to get to the original versions of these notes, which should be kept in scrolls in the Hokage's vault for posterity. Our house is now yours, that goes without saying, and I do hope you fix up the garden. My account on its own should have more than enough money for you to live well, but don't think that you shouldn't work for a living because of that. No son of mine's going to be a lazy bum like that Shikaku Nara! Don't gamble it all away like Tsunade-sama does sometimes, and don't let that pervert Jiraiya use it for hookers! Be nice to the two of them, though. They were always there for your father and me in life, and you can trust them to help you if you need it. And if Kakashi's there right now, tell him to stop reading that perverted book of his and to go find a woman to treat him right! The poor boy needs to settle down and find somebody to love him, not jerk off to that smutty book of his!_

_I rambled again, sorry. The point is, I love you dearly, as does your father, and we wish the best for you. Good luck with whatever you do, my little baby Naru-chan._

_ With Love,_

_ Kushina Uzumaki_

As Naruto silently read the letter, he wept silently, feeling closer to his mother than he ever had, feeling as if he hadn't just read that letter, but rather that his mother had said all these things to him herself, ramblings and all. She was a very loving person, he could tell, and a lot of that love was directed at him. This made him smile warmly, the warmth he felt in his heart from her words spreading out through his entire being...He knew now, that he was loved. It was then that he turned to look at a portrait hanging from the wall of his mother, heavily pregnant, smiling happily as she caressed her baby bump, _him,_ lovingly. A little to the side, closer than the picture, he saw Hinata looking at him, a light blush dusting her cheeks, a smile on her face, and tears falling from her eyes. The blunette, despite her shyness, put her hand on Naruto's shoulder, and said softly, "Things are going to be okay, Naruto-kun."

Looking her in the eyes, Naruto saw something there. Something that caused growing feelings in his heart to stir. Things were going to be all right for them. He would make sure of it, and so would she, and all of their friends. The feelings went beyond that, though, leading to something he didn't recognize. It made him smile brighter, though, and he replied, "Thanks, Hinata. I think you're right about that."

He knew, then and there, that Hinata was special. He just didn't know _how_ special yet...

End Chapter Two


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